The Demolished Man

Rating:
Summary: Classic SF that holds up well
Review: It's truly a joy to read classic SF that holds up so well. This excellent story hasn't been dated much by advances in science over the last five decades. It's fast-paced, hardcore SF that presents futuristic technology without venturing into Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers hokiness. The premise is plausible and well-developed, if a trifle predictable (my jaded SF/police procedural-accustomed brain figured out the "mystery" about 2/3rds through).

I got a chuckle out of some of the names: 1/4maine; @kins, Wyg&. Clever. Oh, and I loved the sing-song rhyme that plays a major role: "Tension, apprehension and dissension have begun."


Rating:
Summary: Breakneck ESP
Review: It's too bad that Alfred Bester didn't release more novels during his career, because he was surely ahead of his time. I highly recommend both this book and Bester's other classic "The Stars My Destination" as wild and woolly examples of speculative sci-fi at its best. Bester truly had a strange imagination (that's putting it politely) and his novels are completely fascinating if only for their relentless weirdness. This book deals with all the possible uses and abuses of ESP, as a telepathic cop pursues a suspect who has committed a crime ? murder ? which has not happened in decades, because the telepaths (or "Espers" here) would know about it beforehand. The Espers are a philanthropic society dedicated to using their powers for the good of humanity, but Bester adds a great twist with an arch-conservative faction complaining about a loss of their individual telepathic rights. Well that's depressingly familiar. The good guy and the bad guy battle each other in a blindingly fast plot full of telepathic skullduggery, and the cop's method of capture is an astonishing feat of Bester's imagination. Yes there are a few holes in the plot, and like much sci-fi the characterizations are on the weak side. But if you want mind-bending feats of a bizarre imagination, this is the place. [~doomsdayer520~]